Excerpt: "In the Kitchen"

May 4, 2010 - 11:35 AM

The tube train pulled in to Russell Square before he realized what he'd done. He'd gotten on the wrong line. How could that have happened? Going completely the wrong direction, when he'd done this journey so many times. He made a dash for the doors, and they closed in his face. At King's Cross, he studied the underground map as if he'd never seen it before. No point going back now; he could get the Hammersmith and City or the Circle to Edgware Road. He stared at the map, all the connections and intersections, you could know every detail and still have no idea about London at street level, still be lost in the real world. When he'd first lived here, Gabriel used to get the tube between Covent Garden and Leicester Square. He turned to face the platform and saw a small black mouse on the tracks, running brave and scared. He saw a Chinese ancient with a plaited beard, a couple kissing, a girl with a bandaged knee, and a man carrying a silver birdcage. The train rumbled in the distance, they stepped forward, all those gathered here, and a mighty wind blew from the tunnel mouth as if God Himself were about to speak.